Canopy Shrewsbury

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Staff are kind, caring, and respond well to the individual needs of the children attending. As a result, children are happy and settled at this welcoming and friendly nursery.

Children behave well because staff offer them frequent praise and encouragement. This helps to build on children's confidence and self-esteem. Staff help children to understand their emotions.

They encourage children to share their thoughts and talk about how they are feeling throughout the day. This helps children to learn how to manage their own feelings and emotions. Children benefit from interesting activities that are tailored to their indiv...idual needs.

They demonstrate good attitudes to learning and remain engaged and interested in their play. For example, staff encourage babies to develop their large-muscle skills. They provide them with opportunities to stand at the low-level water tray and splash about in the water.

Older children excitedly join in with song and rhyme time. Staff encourage them to predict what will happen next in the song. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress in their learning in relation to their starting points.

Children are well prepared for their eventual move to school.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders and managers have made significant improvements since the last inspection. Staff now fully understand the action they should take if they are concerned about a child's welfare or the suitability of a member of staff.

Staff who are responsible for taking the lead for safeguarding have a good understanding of the procedures that they must follow to fully safeguard children.The overall quality of teaching is good. Staff have a clear understanding of how children learn and develop.

Staff get to know children well. They make observations and assessments of children and use these to plan for children's future learning needs. However, some plans for younger children's next steps in learning are not always as ambitious as they could be to ensure that they are consistently supported to make even better progress in their learning and development.

Children develop good communication and language skills. Staff foster children's early language development by encouraging their love of books, songs, and rhymes. Children of all ages readily join in with favourite stories.

Babies excitedly point to the picture and help to turn the pages. Older children join in with familiar phrases. Children become confident communicators at an early age.

They approach visitors and engage in conversations. They chat happily to their peers and take turns in conversations during group times.The support for children with SEND is particularly strong.

The special educational needs coordinator is passionate about ensuring that all children receive the help and support they need. She works alongside parents and other professionals to ensure that targets are set to help children to reach their full potential.Staff provide a rich and varied learning environment within the nursery.

Children benefit from a good balance of adult-led play and child-initiated activities. They confidently make choices from the well-resourced playrooms. Staff ensure that children of all ages benefit from spending time outdoors.

Here, children enjoy the freedom of running around and practise their physical skills as they negotiate the various balancing beams in the garden. However, staff do not consistently provide the same level of rich learning experiences outdoors. This is recognised by the manager, who has plans to improve this aspect of the curriculum.

Children are encouraged to develop their independence. For example, babies learn to feed themselves with a spoon, toddlers pour their own drinks, and pre-school children learn to put their own coat on and fasten the zip before they go outside to play.Staff manage children's behaviour well.

They act as good role models and give children age-appropriate reminders about the rules of the nursery. This helps children to understand what is expected of them.Parents are happy with the nursery.

They say that their children are happy attending and that the staff 'go above and beyond' to help their children. Parents appreciate the regular updates they receive from staff. They say that their children talk fondly of the staff and the time they spend at this nursery.

Staff express how well supported they feel in their roles. They say that they have benefited from recent training and appreciate the ongoing supervisions they have with leaders and managers. This helps to build on the staff's good knowledge and skills.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: review how staff working with younger children plan for their next steps in learning to consistently provide them with even more challenge to enable them to make the best possible progress build on how staff plan the outdoor provision to ensure that it consistently meets the needs of the children who prefer to play and learn outdoors.